On April 17th, 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed at Palácio Iguaçu between the regions of Paraná and Silesia, represented by Paraná’s Vice Governor, Darci Piana and its General Superintendent, Keli Guimarães, and Silesia’s Vice Marshall, Anna Jedynak.
The drafting of this agreement began last year with the support of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme (IURC – Latin America), funded by the European Union (EU). Negotiations began in March 2022, during the study visit of Silesia in Paraná, with the participation of Silesia’s governor, Jakub Cheltowski. Soon after, a team from Invest Paraná visited Silesia to continue developing the partnership. The current agreement further strengthens the economic and cultural ties between the two regions:
“We are interested in receiving new technologies and we are going to collaborate providing what we are a reference in, such as agribusiness, the knowledge produced in our seven state universities and the presence of a large specialized workforce, which makes Paraná the state with the most doctors in proportion to its population” – Mr. Darci Piana
“Paraná has a significant Polish community and is an important regional partner for its geographic location, strong economy, advanced technologies and human capital, but especially for the enormous amount of green and self-sustaining energy it produces, which is of paramount importance in these times of energy crisis” – Mrs. Anna Jedynak
Furthermore, an important part of the agreement is aimed at implementing common projects of mutual interest in areas of regional specialization and sustainable economic development. In this regard, the signing of the agreement was followed by a business matchmaking event on April 19th, aimed at identifying business opportunities and connecting companies of both regions from the automotive, aviation, technology, metallurgical and health sectors. In addition, with the support of the General Superintendence of Economic and Social Development (SGDES), at the end of March an agreement was signed between Invest Paraná and the Katowice Special Economic Zone – KSSE, promoting the exchange of knowledge and technology between the partners. Similarly, last year Parana’s SANEPAR signed an agreement with Silesia’s Central Mining Institute, a research institute in Katowice, for knowledge sharing and technology transfer in environmental projects. In addition, representatives from Paraná and Silesia’s Central Mining Institute will participate at the upcoming IURC Latin America’s Circular Economy event in Fortaleza on May 4-5, 2023.
with companies from the Polish province of Silesia
The signing of the Agreement had the participation of important representatives from public institutions and private companies from both regions: the president of Invest Paraná, Eduardo Bekin; Invest Paraná’s Director of International and Institutional Relations, Giancarlo Rocco; and the General Superintendent of Economic and Social Development, Keli Guimarães, and the Director General of the Secretariat for Innovation, Modernization and Digital Transformation, Diogo Nogueira. The Polish delegation was formed by the Director of the Department of Development and Regional Transformation, Malgorzata Stas; the deputy director of the Department of Economy and International Cooperation, Aleksandra Samira-Gajny; Upper Silesian Fund President Bartlomiej Babuska; the director of Technopark Gliwice, Jacek Kotra; government advisors and representatives of Polish companies operating in Silesia.
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Paraná signs agreement with Polish province for economic, environmental and cultural development
Paraná signs Memorandum of Understanding with Poland
Entrepreneurs from Paraná get to know business opportunities with companies from Silesia